Warrior Spirit
by Pyra Storge
Summary: When the Titans cannot leave the Tower and they are stuck inside with nothing but talk, they soon learn what they love, hate, and think about one another.
1. Chapter 1

**Raven**

Coughing, she rose up with a streak of blood running down her eye. The explosion had been unexpected. She peered through the window and frowned. How did she not sense the rocket coming at her. The Tower was groaning under the strain of it's own debris. Fire swam up like a swan. A fiery phoenix screeching up the strairs and consuming all that it touched.

She took no thought to her actions and summoned a shield of black magic to defend the Titans in their rooms from the death threat. Raven quickly took the magic absorbing the heat and forced it down the building. She then dispersed the flames into the ground causing part of it to melt.

A second explosion came and forced Raven to expend even more energy. She saw the Cyborg running towards her. He slid next to her and shot a glass pane to hit the another rocket. Suddenly, Robin was out with his staff and was throwing shurikens and exploding a swarm of mini rockets. Raven put her arms out as if she was being crucified and separated the heat in half and made it cool down in the water. Free from the magical responsibility, she ran down the hall past an incoming Starfire. She was running at the window pane at the end of the hall as fast as she could. She cocked her fist back as she slammed her foot down and put her momentum forward and hit the glass.

From the cracks came blackness. It began to expand and cover the whole building. Sealing it off from the rest of the incoming heat. It was transparent though. One sided tinted glass. The barrier would prevent all inanimate forms from entering or leaving until she willed it away.

Raven saw Beast Boy stumble from his room on fire. Raven was horrified. She willed a pipe to burst and extinguish the flames. She rushed to his side and saw he was suffering third degree burns. Charred skin and black saggy flesh falling off. It looked so furiously destroyed. He was breathing hard and trying hard not to scream as the shock was putting him to sleep slowly. Cyborg was by her side and they were soon carrying him downstairs via stairwell and preforming surgery. They did as much as they could before they decided to give him a coma shot. Medicine designed to put it's recipient iinto a coma from three to five days. They then hooked him up to machines for breathing and then put him into a water tank to heal his skin.

They returned upstairs and the rockets had stopped coming. The Titans began to examine through the glass and try to locate the attackers. Raven was looking around the rocks slightly off the coast holding a pelican when Starfire tapped on the black glass.

"Over there," she announced. Raven followed her finger and saw a scope flash in the distance near the coast line of Jump City. Then another. And another. Then multiple scopes were flashing. It was evident that the Titans were not able to get to the land. Raven sat down as she realized that they were stuck there.

"Maybe-" Robin started. "-we can teleport and ambush them."

Sounding reasonable, Raven grabbed Cyborg and made a portal. The two, as the ambush with Starfire and Robin waiting behind for a signal to go, entered. Finding themselves on the beaches, a sniper bullet was instant. It pelted the sand by their feet. It came so suddenly that without a second thought, Raven knew the snipers were prepared for her to set up an ambush. Another bullet hit Raven in the leg. Raven summoned a new portal quickly and had the two back in the Tower before another round could be fired.

"What happened?" Robin asked.

"They were expecting us bro," Cyborg

"Any other way Raven?"

"No," Raven gasped as she gripped her thigh. "I don't think I can summon another portal without dropping the shield. And we can't leave Beast Boy."

"We could drop the shield and all of us could teleport before they could blow usup," Cyborg suggested.

"If they knew about an ambush in the moment we got there, they could very well know exactly when to fire before I could cut the magic barrier to create the portal."

"So… are we stuck?" Starfire asked.

"It appears so," Robin said. "But that doesn't matter, we need to get Raven patched up."

Cyborg scooped Raven up. He carried her downstairs. Raven took of her robe so Cyborg could examine the wound. The bullet left a nasty exit wound that was about three inches in circumference. Cyborg was going to have to do extensive surgery. Raven could hardly move from the soreness. The only reason she could remain calm and not feel the shock/ferocious pain was because of the years of meditation with relaxation and inner mind peace. Regardless, he did inject anesthesia into her veins.

Raven, laying hare on the table, closed her eyes and looked into the current matters on hand. Who were the snipers? Raven tried to recalculate all events that could have possibly happened for the Titans to piss of someone so much they called an entire army. There has to be the minimum of forty-five scopes on the coast. No telling how many more were terrorizing the city. Observing her enemies and their characteristics, she concluded with a list of suspects. Either it was Slade, Rose Wilson, Trigon, or Ra's al Ghul.

Then a sudden picture of Beast Boy floating burnt in a water tank flashed in her mind. She tried to shoot up, but the sedation had taken it's toll and taken all advantage of her strength to rise up and scream. She was about to fall asleep, when Cyborg picked her up and moved her to a soft infirmary bed. She laid in it more tiredly than usual and let herself sleep.


	2. The Day After

**Raven**

She awoke with no pleasure of seeing the bleak light. She felt as good as new mostly as her magic fixed her. However, her magic was still straining a headache on her being. She rose up from her mope and peered over at Beast Boy. He was still in the tank. That put a bigger damp on her awakening. He was still charred up, but he was mostly certainly recovering.

Raven went to elevator and shot up to the top floor. When she exited, she could smell a whiff of boiled eggs. She entered the kitchen and saw Robin trying to repair a radio, Starfire cooking breakfast, and Cyborg shuffling through kitchen repairs on the counters.

"That won't work," she informed Robin.

"What do you mean?"

"The magic prevents any calls, radio frequency, or satellite imaging from entering."

"So no help from the outside?" Robin raised an eyebrow.

"Pretty much."

"Fuck," he growled and threw the mic on the ground. He put his head down. Raven saw his anger as childish until she realized he probably tried this for hours. He probably hadn't slept yet.

"Are they still here?" Raven asked.

"Yes," Starfire mourned sadly. "They are here still."

Raven felt even more pissed now that her headache ramped up with her anger. It was making her more angry that she felt more pain and because she had more pain that she got more angry. The cycle was making her head pound harder as she felt the heat in the room rise until she realized she was making the room temperature rise. The black barrier was tinging with a dark matron red. Raven quickly subsided her anger and meditated so the room would sway it's hotness to coolness.

"Felt a little heat breeze," Starfire innocently commented unaware of Raven's condition. "Maybe we should prepare a little bit of ice packets."

"I think we'll begins," Cyborg said. "But thanks for the offer."

Raven just left the area and went to her room to meditate the headache. She smiled as she laid down. It felt so much cooler if she just rested her head in the place where magic was most strong with her. The musty smell of old books and the sweet smell of incense floating through the room calmed her. Made her feel as if she was right at home. Slowly drifting into the thoughts of another time when the wise mortals were alive. Sun Tzu, Lao Tzu, and Confucius. She personally loved Aesop and Socrates, but with assholes like Voltaire, the Eastern Philosophers won.

She heard a loud banging the kitchen that shot her heart into frantic beating. She surged into into the dining room and saw Starfire had collapsed with the eggs all over the floor. She was shaking violently and sobbing as there were more cracks against the glass as the snipers were giving a long barrage of gunfire. They didn't damage the glass, but the sound was still frightening. It was too sudden and Raven could see the physical attribute of the ambushing sound mixed with the emotional atmosphere taking toll on Starfire's current state.

Robin and Cyborg looked startled, but otherwise fine. Robin was by Starfire's side whilst Cyborg looked too distraught to do much else. Raven felt everyone's thought process. Cyborg was okay, but the other Titans were slowly hurting themselves and it was affecting him. Raven swiped her hand through the air and put Robin to sleep. Starfire was next under the spell. Cyborg was now relieved.

"Thank you," he said. "I was afraid they'd run themselves to the ground and do something desperate."

"I'll put them away."

Cyborg nodded while Raven carried Robin to his room. Then she put Starfire in her respective room. She slouched down by Starfire's bed and tucked her in snugly. Starfire looked disarrayed. Raven removed her from her bed and put her in the tub after stripping her. Raven used a sponge and a sedative powder. The light purple powder would sink into Starfire's skin and release a load of sleeping agent. It would making Starfire very sleepy and keep her unconscious for about twelve hours. Rubbing her down, she dampened her sponge and slowly washed Starfire.

Then Raven fetched a pair of panties and slid them on Starfire. Then she returned Starfire to her bed. It was a very smooth transition. Raven returned to the kitchen where Cyborg was now screwing the cabinets together. Raven cleaned up the spilled food and began to cook two small bowls of hash browns and bacon.

When Cyborg finished, she finished. She placed the food down and the two ate in silence. It was inevitable for talk, buibuit it didn't feel right.

"We're trapped aren't we?" Cyborg said suddenly.

"Yeah," Raven replied glumly. "We're trapped."

"How are we going to escape?"

"I don't know. I might be able to extend the shield so we can fish, but other than that, we can't go anywhere until the other superheroes notice we're missing."

"Oh," Cyborg shook his head.

"Let's just hope for something to pop up later in our minds," Raven suggested. "We'll find a way to escape."

There was a long silence. When the food was done, Raven took the bowls and put them in the sink and washed them. She returned to the table. "What are we going to do until we get rescued?"

"Let's clean up and we'll take it from there."

She nodded and began to help with the reconstruction of the Tower. She went to the hallway and began to repair the walls. She spent hours cleaning and only taking a break for dinner. She went and repaired Beast Boy's room and she finally felt satisfied. It was about midnight when she was done repairing the Tower. A that was left was a slight bit sleeping. She started hitting the floor with the broom. When she was pushing the dirt by Starfire's room, she heard Starfire had been up. The powder must've worn off. Raven heard crying and sniffs.


	3. (Part 1) Love is a Stimulant and…

**Raven**

Entering, she saw Starfire drying up her tears. The skimpy alien was scratching herself and her neck. When she saw the demon, she stopped and wiped her eyes quickly.

"I am sorry," Starfire said. "I am just… feeling sad right now."

"I know," Raven said sitting down on Starfire's bed.

Starfire sat next to Raven and slouched her shoulders and leaned her head over to rest on Raven's shoulder. Raven held the girl and massaged her softly to comfort her. She noticed the room seemed to be in slight disarray. As if Starfire had thrown things around. She must've done so before bursting into tears which led Raven's entrance.

"Are you okay?" Raven asked.

"No," Starfire answered hollowly. "I am just not accustomed to seeing Beast Boy so burnt and Robin so weary."

"Robin's strong." "And Beast Boy?"

"With the nerve to flirt with me?"

Starfire didn't laugh at Raven's joke. However, the air did lighten up. The thickness of the mouth and the warmness of the tears had faded and Raven felt Starfire struggling to fight past the cold streaks on her face with happiness. Raven stood up and pulled her along.

"Let's get you dressed first," Raven said quickly tossing Starfire a bra and a long T-shirt.

"Why do people get dressed?"

"Because we consider it modest."

Starfire shrugged and dressed up. The two went into the kitchen and began to set up a board game. Something about a fraud with a mustache and a Ponzi scheme. Polynoply or something by the name. Raven dug up the metal dog which gave a slight rain drop of sadness as it reminded her of Beast Boy. Starfire was the cowboy on a horse that was rearing up.

"You go first," Starfire said. "It's only fair."

"Okay," Raven said and threw the dice before moving to a paying taxes. Raven paid the seventy-five fake dollars in one one hundred and requesting twenty-five from the bank. It was Starfire's turn. She went to the end of the board as she rolled ten. As they doubles, she rolled again. Two ones. She bought the square. She threw the dice and she went to Unpaid Parking via ten, but four and six this time and collect what was in the pot.

Raven smiled as she threw the dice and went to where Starfire went on her first go. When Starfire threw the dice, Cyborg entered. He politely decided not to play as he went to bed. Raven looked at the time and saw it was about two in the morning. She shook it off as she kept playing.

As the game came to a close, Raven noticed Starfire was chewing on her knuckles. She appeared to be so agitated. Raven assumed earlier that it was because she hyped about the game and thinking of a strategy, but now it seemed more personal. Starfire had become more calm.

"Is everything okay?" Raven asked. Starfire gazed up interrupted in thought.

"Oh, yes. I am fine as the mortals say."

"You seem a little tense."

"It's just, the thought of being a damsel in distress troubles me. It makes me feel claustrophobic. As if I am not able to fend for myself. Or anyone else."

"That's not true-"

"It is and you know it. That's why you keep fighting."

"What do you mean?"

"Why you never give Beast Boy the chance to prove to you he's worth your attention. You feel as if you give in, you'll be reliant on someone else. All I am is a whore."

Starfire was hugging her stomach and didn't look so enthusiastic about the game anymore. "Starfire, I don't think you're using that word right."

"How do you know?"

"Because a whore is someone who has many sexual pleasures with others. A person who is, well, basically a slave to their desires."

"So I'm right."

"How?"

"I am always desiring for a man to be my protectors. To touch me. I am afraid if I don't let someone touch me, they will not protect me." "Starfire, not everyone wants to touch you, I mean, not everyone wants your body in exchange for protection."

Raven tried to take her words back, but the first connotation had already struck. Not everyone loved her. Which was true, but it made it seem as if Raven didn't want to protect her despite not wanting her body. She moved closer to Starfire and took her hand. Starfire met her eyes despite being slightly bleary.

"Starfire, I will always love you, but I will never love you. Do you understand?"

"No," Starfire whispered.

"I will always see you as family, but I will never love you intimately."

"So?"

"Just because I don't want you sexually or romantically, will I always love you?"

"Yes."

"So then if I love you, I will protect you. Love is not something you can bargain for. It is not something you can prostitute yourself for. It is not something you can truly declare out loud."

"So then why do I feel even more loved each and every time-"

"Yet broken after each and every time?"

Starfire nodded. Raven stood up and picked up Starfire. She sat on the couch and had Starfire lean on her. Raven stroked Starfire as if telling a bed time story.

"When you drink something like Monster™ or Red Bull™ or Dr. Pepper™-"

" ™?" Starfire asked.

"Germany has some weird laws, anyway, when you drink this stuff, you get energy."

"But not real energy."

"Exactly. A stimulant. Love is the same way. Sex is something that is what lovers express between one another. Multiple purposes, but I assume you know the ways it can be used and ways it can be perceived."

"But not everyone who has sex are lovers?"

"No. That's definitely a fact. Anyway, sex can be abused as a stimulant. You think you're in love because it's accommodated for love, but it's not really love because the lovers are not in love."

"What?"

"To simmer it down, love can be abused. It can be monstrous. It can lead straight to Hell. True love is what you need."

"How am I supposed to use this lesson for myself?"

Raven didn't know, but she had brought this up for some reason. She was about to find out.


	4. (Part 2) Cocaine can be a Addict

**Raven**

"Let's think about it," Raven offered as a filler. "Uh, um, if you are not feeling true love-"

"What does that feel like?" Starfire asked she had a slightly more innocent look in her shining eyes with a slight hint of something else. Was it craze, excitement, or desperation?"

"Imagine floating," Raven said off the top of her head.

"I float when I want to."

Raven felt slighlty hot in the face for not realizing that. Still, the look in the eye had thrown her off just a bit. She shook the feeling off. "Okay," Raven said touching her forehead to concentrate. "How about on the insides? When you burn in the face because you might be afraid of someone looking at you."

"Your face burns?"

Raven groaned. So many expressions Starfire didn't understand. Raven had to even rub her chin to try and explain on the lowest level of crammer possible without any figures of speech.

"Have you ever looked at someone and gotten hot even though it's cold?"

"Yes," Starfire said putting a finger to her lip. "Yes, I have before."

"Why did you get hot?"

"Because I kept looking at them when they were not looking at me and I did not look at them when they were looking at me."

"That's what I mean. We call that embarrassment."

"Is it… okay to feel embarrassed?"

"Yes, perfectly normal," Raven took her hands to keep the girl from scratching herself.

"Is that what we call true love?"

"No, we call it attraction. When your attracted to someone, you want to be around them."

"Okay."

"And if they start to be embarrassed about you-"

"Then they are attracted to me! At an extent?"

"Yes. So, when you two tell each other how you would like them-"

"Liking someone?"

"It's another phrase for telling them you would both like to look at each other without being embarrassed."

"Is that love?"

"If they want to like you back, they can say yes and you two will find a little bit of love."

"What if they say no?"

"Then you shouldn't keep feeling embarrassed about them."

"So then what is "true love""

"That's when you like someone so much and they like you so much that you both make a promise to only like each other."

"Like… marriage?"

Raven almost clapped at the sound of Starfire gradually picking up with the vocabulary. "Yes," Raven replied gladly. "Like marriage."

"What if people suddenly don't… well, um, like each other anymore after they become married?"

The mood got darker. Raven took a deep sigh and let gooff her hands. She gave a little smile though as she remembered how she acted like she didn't love Beast Boy. Love can be poison. Deadly even.

"Sometimes you have to wait it out. But if you really don't love them anymore, well, then there's a thing called divorce. It's when two people don't like each other so much that they don't want to be together anymore. Sometimes, it gets so extreme that they don't even want to look at each other anymore."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

The mood got so tense that there was a long lull of silence. It didn't seem like the talk could pick back up again. It seemed like they were about to part ways and go to sleep. Raven began to pick up the board pieces and organize them. The two cleaned up, returned the game to it's shelf. The two went to the kitchen and made a little popcorn and went to the living room to watch a movie. Anything to mmove on from the past talk.

As the cheesy romantic movie played (if only they knew how scary vampires really were) Starfire scratched her arm more furiously. Raven took her wrist. Starfire seemed fine on the surface.

"Are you okay?" Raven asked.

"I am fine. Why do you inquire?"

"You keep itching yourself?"

"I'm just… not very well Raven. I found some things to make me happy. You know, when you can't find love and it makes you really sad. Depressed. I need to go to my room."

"What kind of stuff?" Raven asked concerned. The conversation was becoming more and more weird as Starfire scratched herself again. Her neck, her hair, her arms. The movie became too much an annoyance to the point Raven shut it off. She was about to offer to get some lotion or anything, but then again, the powder should have relaxed her. Something that wasn't emotional was keeping her up. Unless of course Starfire… no, impossible. Heartbreak wouldn't be affected, but the chances. No. The symptoms were to erratic for it to be heartbreak.

"It makes me really happy. I need it right now otherwise I will be in pain." Starfire shot off to her room.

This wasn't normal. Raven was too suspicious to wait. On her heel in split second, Raven was rushing down the hall. Starfire darted into her room and slammed the door before Raven could enter. Her nose would've smashed against the cold metal door if her reflexes hadn't kicked in and she delved into a portal that entered the aliens room.

Starfire was tossing clothes out of a dresser and she finally pulled out a brown package about six decimeters wide, seven decimeters long, and three decimeters thick. A white powder trickled out of it onto the floor from the corner of a slit opening. Raven put it together. The scratching. The sniffs. The fact Starfire thought she was a whore and always so sad in her downtime.

Starfire was addicted to cocaine.

Starfire had a knife in hand to stab the package and she looked up at Raven. She had wild eyes and the scratching in her hair made her look like the description of a stereotypical addict. Before Starfire could move, Raven shouted, "No!"


	5. Heal and Song

**Raven**

Starfire was wielding the knife more nervously. She was slightly tipsy in her movement. Not a drunken stance, but rather debated. Raven could see the power of addiction and how it changed everyone. She could see in her friend's eyes that she didn't want to fight Raven, but at the same time, she wanted to grasp on to her desperation and cling to the package for emotional dependence.

Raven couldn't stand to see her friend in pain and dependent on everything. She stepped forward slowly and offered her hand, but Starfire stumbled back wildly swiping the knife. Raven stepped back, but not before Starfire cut her right palm with a swipe. Raven felt the sear of pain. She looked at her wound. The bright red juice covered the cliffs of the cut and covered her hand. So bright. So red. So liquidly and it almost looked like paint. Shiny to the point that Raven could really compare it to metallic material.

"I'm so sorry," Starfire said putting her hands to her head and grabbing her hair. The knife and package were still grasped tightly. "Are you okay?"

Raven looked at her attacker. The girl had tears in her eyes. Why was she feeling bad? She wasn't the one cut. Raven felt the vehement and anger rise deep in her breast, but then, she tried to switch positions. What if she was on cocaine? Addicted like a slave? Starfire would've forgave her quicker than the thudding heart of a coked up Raven who just cut her. Raven had soft eyes of gold, but now they softened to butter.

"I'll forgive you, but I need you to prove you're sorry."

"Anything!"

"Put the knife and the coke down."

Starfire caught her breath. She slowly lowered her hands and looked at the dangers in her hand. Her knife soaked in her victim's blood. Her cocaine was the reason. Starfire was closing her eyes and letting the tears flow from her eyes. Time stood still in her passion of acceptance versus defeat. Raven waited for her friend to give up the dangers willingly.

Starfire dropped the knife and package.

Raven rushed forward and caught the alien before her knees could hit the ground. She held her friend in tight arms. Raven took the girl out into the hallway. The girl was sobbing.

"I'm so sorry," Starfire cried.

"It's okay," Raven murmmered.

"It's not okay!" Starfire was mourning like piano. "I'm just so stupid."

"No, you acted stupid. Everyone makes mistakes, but I forgive you."

"Why?" Starfire couldn't dry it up. That was a fact beyond the need of research. "It's not like you're some type of God or Jesus for fuck's sake!"

Raven thought. "Well," she said. "Jesus forgave those who killed him. Whether you want to accept Him as the Son of God, that's up to you, but it's undeniable that He did ask for God to forgive those who killed Him. How much harder can it be to forgive you for cutting me with a sharp object I can easily heal later."

"But-"

"Hush," Raven said sternly, bit kindly. "You need to rest now."

"I was just asleep though."

"And I need to sleep."

"You don't trust me?"

There was a long silence. Raven limped with her to the elevator and then downstairs. As they were in the elevator, Raven continued the conversation. Such hypocrisy when she wanted it to end it two sentences ago.

"It's not that I don't trust you, but rather that I need to make sure I get you situated in a routine to recovery."

"You trust me in other things, but not in others?"

"Exactly."

Raven hooked Starfire into a bed. Starfire looked at Raven innocently and afraid.

"Are you going to leave me?"

"Not until you're asleep."

"Sing me a song."

"I can't sing."

"If I can give up cocaine, you can sing."

"Okay, but don't expect me to be too good."

"I won't judge."

Raven cleared her throat and looked down into Starfire's bright eyes. They were waiting. Like a puppy. Raven adored them. She swallowed and opened her mouth to a lullaby.

"Wander through the grass

And the tall mountains,

The waters and fish

Brimming in the fountains.

Let me tell you of

A time peace was abundant

And there was no such things

As being redundant.

For everything was perfect

And people were grateful

And joyful with the ignorance

Of even the word hateful.

It's a time

We can still reach together

With no finished hopes

And faith for tomorrow to be better."

Starfire smiled as Raven sedated her once again with strong magic charm. Raven almost felt like rolling her eyes into the back head with the energy being depleted into a high expense of tiredness.

The demon took the elevator back upstairs where Cyborg had come back out and started to clean all disruption. He hadn't entered Starfire's room, so Raven took the knife and cocaine to the trash. Cyborg noticed Raven's cut hand as she was passing back to her room. He grabbed her wrist and produced a purple handkerchief and tied it into a tourniquet. Raven smiled and Cyborg returned the expression.

Raven went to her room and closed the door behind herself. She flopped onto her bed. A ounce of sleep would come finally? Yeah, bullshit. She stood up as she was still on adrenaline. She moved around to wear it out. She stepped out of her outfit and into a smooth black robe. She was cold and considered putting something warmer on, but she relented into the mentality that the coldness would keep her disciplined. She still decided to cover herself with a blanket.

Sleep wouldn't come as the throbbing from her wound arrived. Without medication and adrenaline slowly leaking out and soaking in the tourniquet, the pain became more urgent and required treatment. She sat up and whispered some words of magic and let the pain disappear and the only thing left was a scar covered in dried blood. She decided to not peel the blood off as some of it was still damp and she didn't want to be dirty her hands in sticky muck.

Laying awake, she stared at the ceiling. She had to think about Starfire. She wanted to be mad, but, no. It just wasn't right. Starfire had willingly given up her drugs and weapon in hope of making amends with Raven. With that kind of dedication, Raven could forgive her so quickly.


	6. Beast Boy

**Raven**

She was asleep and she heard shuffling around in her room. Not a shadow or magical figure, but a physical body in her room with emotion, flesh, and blood. Raven kicked up with ease as the few hours of sleep had put her into a renewed state. She looked around. She saw a figure huddled in the corner crouched with her back to her. It was eating something. Almost like a dark demon of sorts.

Raven was bleeding nothing more than curiosity. How did it get in? Who was it? She advanced floating so that the figure wouldn't hear a sound of footfall. She reached out her hand and touched it's shoulder. It was Beast Boy. He was crouched in a shiver in a robe. Impossible. There is no way he could be up and walking right now. Much less, breathing without a tube.

Yet here he was.

"Beast Boy?"

Beast Boy rose and turned around. A piece of apple hung in his mouth. He swallowed. He had burned flesh and only his eyes were shining. He was crisply shredded brown and pink with no hair. His mouth was curled into a smile. His right ear was chipped and he was bleeding out of his right ear. Raven reached out to touch his face. She gave a single caress and a flake of skin the size of a snowflake shredded off. She withdrew her hand quickly as it the absence of the skin revealed a patch of baby pink skin oozing bright red blood. She could only see in the candle light, but it was for the best. What if what she saw was so horrid she killed herself from the guilt.

"Do I look sexy?" He asked with weak laughter. The old reminisce of his old self.

Raven covered her mouth. She wanted to hug him and cry on him. She wanted to scream out how much she loved him. She wanted to make up for every moment that she rejected him. Every witty comment of insult she made she wanted to stuff back down her throat.

"Are you astounded by my beauty?" He asked flexing off more muscle, thus, taking off more skin.

"Beast Boy, we need to get you healthy."

"Care to walk with me?"

Raven stepped out into the hallway. She walked and talked with him initiative of the conversation.

"So, tell me, what have I missed out on?"

Raven explained everything to him. As they reached the elevator, she was stopped with a hand. Beast Boy stepped inside and refused to let Raven enter the elevator.

"I'll hook myself up to the machines. Go back to bed."

"But-"

"Hey Raven?"

"What?"

"Do you love me?"

"Of course I do!"

"Come visit me in the morning if I'm awake. Some company would be nice."

"Why can't I visit now?"

"Because I'm tired and I want to see you return to me in the dawn. Love you."

The elevator door closed. Raven tried to leap in and she wasn't able to make it in time. She priedat the doors and when she couldn't open them, she willed a portal to fall to the floor of medication. When she arrived about twenty to thirty seconds later, he was already under the instant sedation hooked up. Next to the tube was Starfire sound asleep. Raven shook her head and rose back up through the floors and went back to her he'd waiting for the morning to break.

When she got up, she was going to take the elevator down when she ran into Robin who was lurking through the hall on his staff like a walking stick. She conferred to him about Starfire. Asking little questions so nothing would be tipped off.

"Robin."

Robin turned to face her with a slight tired hunch.

"What's up Raven?"

"Has Starfire been action ng a little strange to you lately?"

"No. In what way, I mean. Just to clarify."

"A bit more excitement than usual? A little frisky even?"

"Besides her normal personality, no. I thought she just seemed a little overactive since I've known her. You know, goggling over how slushies are made or some shit like that."

"Oh. Well, she seemed to get overly excited yesterday and she accidentally got a few bruises while you slept. She's downstairs, but she'll be okay."

"Oh," Robin went from dull to alert when Raven mentioned Starfire being hurt, to relieved when Raven said she'd be okay. "Well, I hope everything is still going well. Maybe we'll see Beast Boy up and walking soon."

"Funny you say th-"

A large smack came against a pane of glass. It cause Raven to grab her head in a new headache. The magic barrier was weakening.

"They're still here?" Robin grumbled as Raven recovered. When he noticed she was disoriented, he grabbed her shoulder to make sure she stayed on balance. When she faced him, she had a nose bleed. He whipped out a handkerchief and gave it to her.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah."

"So why are you bleeding?"

"The magic barriers… it's tied to my spiritual well being and draining my energy. Every time hhey hit the glass, I'm expending more and it hurts little by little."

"So when you have no more energy-"

"We're dead," Raven said more quiet and serious. A dark shadow of cold air hung over them and descended slowly like snow.

"I hope the Justice League knows we're missing soon," Robin said.

"If not, when Beast Boy can transform, I can put him underwater to find Aquaman."

Another headache blistered through as another smack hit. Raven doubled over and this time both nostrils gave way. Raven waved Robin off and was content on stopping the bleeding. She shook her head and went off on her way to the elevator. As she came downstairs she saw Beast Boy was still asleep.

Raven grumbled.


	7. It's a Monday

**Raven**

Talk about a bad day. You wake up bursting with energy and you have a glass of half and half lemonade ice tea. You're heading to current occupation when you get hit by a car. You're late for work, you get your office robbed, and you get shot in the ear. Then you get fired. Then you try to get home, but your car is wrecked. So you call a cab and get to your apartment parking lot and it turns out you don't have the cash to pay. Thus, the taxi driver shoots you in the knees and kicks you out after running your pockets. You climb up eight flight of stairs and have to change stairwells before making your way up to the front door. Shit, your door is locked. So you have to get up and throw yourself through the door and you have just barged in on your significant other fucking your kid with a real thug.

In other words, your day can get a whole lot worse if you get that stuffed into one headache. Which Raven just so happened to have.

Raven was stacking dominos when another smack against the glass came and made her topple the dotted marble monument. She groaned and gripped her head. Why wouldn't Beast Boy just get up yet? Oh yeah, because he's knocked out from nearly burning to death.

"Raven," Cyborg touched her arm. "Raven, do you need to rest?"

"No," she snarled quietly. "I need Beast Boy to wake the fuck up."

"Well, in the meantime, I made some grilled cheddar grilled cheese with ham and red diced bell peppers. Would you like a sandwich?"

"Sure," Raven said pulling out the handkerchief and wiping her bleeding nose. The handkerchief was soaked in blood. Raven was about to touch her nose again when Cyborg took the cloth and replaced it with another more white one. She smiled as she held it up to her nose.

Raven took small bites into the warm gooey bread under the rag. After finding that difficult, she merely threw down the food and slumped her shoulders in frustration. She pressed the cloth even harder to her nose. Cyborg shook his head and went to the cabinets. He opened a medicine cabinet. He retrieved a bottle of a dark liquid. And a syringe.

Well fuck, now Raven, was bleeding and unable to eat was about to be injected with some type of shit by her friend. Hopefully this was to help.

Instead, Cyborg withdrew some liquid via the syringe and dropped it into a frying pan and let it crackle a boil. He went to the freezer and got a sirloin steak. He laid it on the pan and pressed the needle through the meat and watched it sizzle.

"What is that?"

"A steak."

"The medicine, I mean."

"A chemical that is needed to keep my mechanics move properly. Well, actually, it's to make my blood stronger."

"So it's like a mechanical steroid?"

"More or less. I need it to make a blood transfixion to Beast Boy."

"Why can't you just inject him?"

"Because this chemical needs a robotic combustor and a 368900-"

"Spare me the details."

"Basically, I'm the only one who can make the operation. I just mask it in food because it would be lethal in a pure dose. Granted, you might survive, but only if you were at a much fuller potential."

"Potential?"

"You know, minus the energy loss?"

"Oh."

There was a long silence as Cyborg finished the cooking and ate. He then left for his blood donation and Raven was left all alone. Why the fuck did Raven feel so down and out when Cyborg talked now? He used to be so bromantic with Beast Boy, but ever since Beast Boy went under the sedation and it's influences, he seemed to mature. Return to the time he was in the Justice League where being a kid was neigh impossible to conceive as a thought.

Raven wanted to beat him in for changing so much. Why doesn't it come down to her to be a shining light, but instead, what does she get? Everyone starts stepping up for once in their life.

About mid thought, which happened to be around the eighth minute of Cyborg's passing, Beast Boy entered with more pink skin than burnt leather. He sat next to her and swung his feet. Raven looked at him unsurprised. For some reason, Beast Boy had been deciding to act so secretive that he was up. She'd let him play his game for another day, but she was turning him in tomorrow morning if he didn't come clean. She was fired and was sick and tired of Beast Boy acting so foolishly, even though he wasn't able to turn into an animal just yet.

At that thought, there was no reason to turn him. What were the Titans need him for if he can't use his powers. He smiled and she gave the longest finger on her left hand. He leaned forward and kissed it.

"Headaches are the worst," he gage a slight grin.

"Shut up."

"Why should I? I'm quite… burnt out if you ask me."

"Why do want to ridicule yourself for my amusement?"

"Because I know deep down inside, you find it funny."

"Not really."

"And deep down inside, you love me."

"That's debatable."

"And deep down in your pussy could be my penis soon."

"Excuse me!" Ravcen stood up. "Who the fuck do you think-"

And that's when she felt it. The cold truth gripped her. Tighter than a noose. She felt the emotional thoughts of Beast Boys. Granted, she couldn't tell dreams from real alive thoughts, she did know that Beast Boy was too outwardly. Something was off. She reached down into his psychological state. And she realized it.

Beast Boy had developed a schizoaffective disorder and ADHD.

(Side note- schizoaffective disorder makes you very different. It's like a blend of schizophrenia and just being pure delusional. Look it, up, I don't have too much time to explain.)

Raven knew he would never say this. Why was she seeing him fall apart as he scampered off, leaving her with the feeling of brokeness and a sense of violation. Well, that took her mind off the headache until he was gone. Instantly, something smacked against the glass and made her double over and bleed.

This was just one of those days. Nothing against the fact that it happened to be Monday.


	8. Desperate

**Raven**

She was debating between reporting him and helping him alone like Starfire. Surely, no one would benefit if he was brought to the light, but what if the others could fix him? Unlikely, but right now, Raven needed to someone to talk to. And that person had to be the one locked downstairs for recovery. It would be better if she could bring Starfire to recent disorder than to wait and possibly give the alien PTSD.

Raven disappeared downstairs in a portal after cleaning herself up and as her feet touched the floor, Cyborg was just closing the elevator. Beast Boy was resting in a tube. Raven averted her eyes so she wouldn't be afraid, break, or be angry. She approached the sleepy form of Starfire.

"Starfire," Raven gave her a little shake. "Starfire, wake up."

Starfire's eyes fluttered open and blinked half heartedly. She smiled up at Raven. She looked so frail. "Hi, Raven," she said in a much more smooth voice. She had some of the old girly voice, but now it sounded richer like a thirty year old woman who lived in the deep west.

"Starfire, I need to talk to you."

"What do you need?" Starfire said tiredly.

"How should I deal with someone who is very sexually aggressive and unable to think properly."

"Like a… well, forgive my language as I know it's rude, but… like a retard?"

Raven cringed at the slang. She promised herself she'd teach Starfire some more words later on. Raven nodded her head slowly.

"There's someone I know that's been suffering from a mental disorder-"

"What's a mental disorder?"

"It's the proper term for people that can't function normally. You know, retards."

"Oh. Should I refer to that instead of the mean word?"

"Yes! I mean, yes. Please do."

"Okay."

"Anyway, this person happens to be in that delicate situation and I was wondering…"

"If I would be able to tell you what it was like on cocaine?" Starfire finished Raven's lost words. She knew that cocaine made people erratic and act different. Raven nodded shyly. Starfire shifted and Raven undid the restraints so she could sit up.

"Raven, it's like you think everything feels good. Really good. You think everything is under your will. That everything and anything is at your disposal and anything or anyone who threatens such power must be removed or forced to do your will. It doesn't feel good when you come off it, but while you are in the moment, you have the ability to think you are unstoppable. Nothing will stand in the way between you and whatever makes you happy. And if someone is, you have to get around them anyway possible."

Raven was seeing how Beast Boy was. He wanted Raven and with this type of mental disorder, Starfire was implying Beast Boy would get more aggressive. Raven met Starfire's eyes. Starfire sighed and breathed hard and clenched the hem of her skirt.

"I didn't mean to make you relive that-" Raven began but Starfire held up her hand.

"Look Raven, this is serious. If you think he has a disorder just like the effects of cocaine, then you know that if he's sexually aggressive, you need to stay away from him in all ways."

"Why?"

"If he truly wants your body the way I wanted cocaine…" Starfire shivered. "Sometimes people do desperate things to get what they want."

And with those words, Raven realized two things. Starfire just implied Beast Boy might rape her. That was a can of worms on it's own. But the more pressing matter on hand as Raven was selfless, Starfire had done some desperate things. The shiver, the fact she called herself a whore, the words she just uttered. Starfire wasn't lying. She had done sex for drugs and that had Raven die just a little on the inside.

"Starfire…" Raven picked her words carefully. "Did, did you do desperate things?"

Starfire dropped her eyes.

Raven felt so guilty. She had thought to herself earlier not to press the girl, but now, Raven had to no everything. It wasn't fair, humane, and it was cruel to press the alien on, but Raven wasn't using the information for gossip. She was using this information for saving her friend.

"Starfire, what did you do?"

"I… I… I just did it. I didn't think he would hurt me. He just, whispered, and he-he-he" Starfire had hot tears on her face. Raven took the alien's hands and held them tight before pulling her close to prevent an outburst as the green aura was starting to smoke the room. As Raven rocked her back and forth, Starfire's green aura grew bolder and warmed the room.

"Starfire," Raven withdrew and grabbed her face. "Starfire, I need you to calm down. Please."

Starfire was sobbing harder and the green was stopping soon.

"Stop!" Starfire was screaming. She had balls of green energy glowing bright green in her hands.

Raven had extend a purple aura around Beast Boy to protect him as she stepped forward slowly. With shade of green, Raven felt more energy slip. She finally got to Starfire's mind. She grasped all the vivid moments of desperate activities and forced them to shut down. Next, Raven went to Starfire's very soul and forced it into sleep.

Raven fell to her knees unable to catch the skimpy girl. The alien fell on her shoulder with her hair covering her face. The sound of her heartbeat pounded in her ear. She fell on her back and closed her eyes. After fifteen seconds, she reopened them with only her sights locked on the ceiling. Beast Boy was over her too. He went to his knees and rubbed her temples. He placed her head in his lap with caring eyes and lulled her into the state of unconsciousness.


	9. Reality

**Raven**

Oh, if only she could wake up without the pain of dying. Poetic, but not true. Oh, if she could smile at the sight of her own child. Hopeful, but not true. She didn't have a child. She wished she could lay in a field of white roses with their edges red as the smell of vanilla wafted through the air with a hint of cinnamon. Romantic, (and a little too personal for her to admit) but not true. There was no such thing as that perfect world.

The point is, there is so much Raven could wish for and wish she could say about herself, but it just wasn't true. Sometimes, she just needs to let go of false realities. Because there is no such thing. It's kind of like proposing there was an infinite list of realities for the infinite number of decisions made. Think about how stupid that is. It's a paradox proclaimed from the horse's mouth. Hats off to Mr. Ed.

If there are an infinite number of realities from a infinite number of decisions, then why has today come? Clearly, an infinite number of decisions means today would have never come after tomorrow as it is infinite. And yesterday would not have come from the day before. It's too stupid and illogical.

Well, if that didn't confuse you, let's put it like this from the analogy. Raven hears and sees things, hell, she even wants them, but it's just not real. But here's just something to drive you and her insane. What would happen if that was theoretically did happen and we screwed the laws of logic and physics? What if alone you/she saw wasn't even fucking real but you pretended it was every step of the way just so you could hide your fucking grief. What if the grief hit you so bad you just felt like taking a razor blade and ramming it between your anorexic body because you can't even move through your fucking crippling depression to get up and eat.

But your imagination is so strong. And you must survive. So you start seeing things, hearing them, feeling them. They become flesh and blood that you alone can see. Everyone else may thank you are crazy, but you know it's to keep yourself stable. But what if...? What if you didn't know you were fighting grief unconsciously?

Raven woke up on a table and Robin stood over her with his staff in his hand. He looked absolutely remorseful. Raven may have been around the same age as him, she was still not one to want to displease him. But he looked… sorry for her. Why was he sorry for her.

"Raven," he said. "I'm regretfully here to inform you that you have been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder."

"What?" Raven asked not grasping what he was saying.

"I know it's hard to hear, but, you have schizoaffective disorder."

"No. No. How?"

"Raven, what happened?"

"What do you mean?"

"What happened? Everything with Starfire. Everything since we were sealed in this place."

Raven told him everything with no privacy. The headaches, the cocaine, the pains of Sfarfire, and though it pained her, Beast Boy.

Robin hung his head. He looked back up at her with hurting eyes. He didn't look betrayed. He knew why Raven wanted her own methods, but now, he looked like his accusations of her mental illness were confirmed. Raven propped up on her elbow. She grabbed her wrist to draw a more firm look to her face.

"What is happening?"

"Raven, I heard a lot of corroboration. Yes, Starfire did do some cocaine, but please, come forward with the information next time. We need to push through this together. As for your cause of diagnoses-

Raven grabbed her forehead. The pounding hit once more. She laid down flat as a stream of blood gushed from her nose. The shield was still up.

"Ahhh!" Raven moaned as she felt her head split into two separate voices. One giving her advice to meditate and another to dives loses upon her own friend's mind. To escape with Beast Boy and exterminate the world. They came back as on voice that just said _PAIN!_

Robin held her and wiped her nose as the pain lolled over to a dull throbbing. She squeezed her eyes shut to balance out her vision. She opened them as felt tired.

"Are your headaches."

"What?"

"The cause of your mental disorder are the headache and a hidden trauma."

"No, no, no."

"Raven-"

"Stop talking!"

"Raven-"

"Please! No!"

"Listen-"

"Please don't-"

"Raven!" Robin said with a firm shake and he grabbed her wrists. "You know what my mind says and you best believe your going to hear it and accept it before you your fucking self!"

"Robin-"

"Raven, he was never here. Stop holding on."

Raven looked over at the glass tube where Beast Boy was floating in. Hooked to wires. On life support. He looked better, but he was never better. Always healing, but never opening his eyes. And it broke her. She has tears in her eyes as she hugged Robin close for comfort.

Why?

Because Beast Boy was always in a coma and Raven was in denial. Every step of the way. No one had acknowledged him as she descended into madness. She had felt pure emotions from the rawness of his absence and created her very own version of Beast Boy. She had been too wrapped up in keeping everyone alive, she'd made herself her own source of pleasure. Of emotional falseness. Her own lover that could be hers or perhaps never. Maybe the real Beast Boy would love her. In her mind she said, _Oh, maybe he'll give me a sense of perfectness._ A great thought. But not true.

Broken with beads of tears running from her dark feathered eyes.


	10. PTSD

**Raven**

Talk about tragedies. Actually there are a couple that compare. _Romeo & Juliet, Hamlet, _and _Raven's Tears of Love. Be_ considerate of this… brief hiatus. Perfection of endings and different series mustn't be rushed. Now, where were we in our tale. Ahh, Raven has just discovered Beast Boy never talked to her in the state of unconsciousness. Perfect. Let us resume.

Raven gave a beautiful sob that broke the hearts of the doves and brought forth music to the ears of the crows, but the Robin did not enjoy such a tune. He wrapped his arm around Raven's shoulder and hugged her close. Raven shivered in the warm touch and let her tear glossed hair cover her face. The salty liquids entered her mouth as she felt more heat summon with her sternum and dread build in her belly.

"What's happening to me?" Raven cried.

"It's okay," Robin whispered in her ear. Raven heard more presences surround her. She felt a woman's hand wrap around her. Then a warm metallic hand. Raven looked up as Starfire hugged her more prominently. Cyborg sat next to her and massaged her lower back. A group effort to comfort her.

One of the hands snaked to her face to turn it to it's owner's face. Starfire. Raven liked the way her hand felt. She just wanted anything that would distract her from her pain. Anything.

So, desperate for some type of spark, she confused Starfire's face with Beast Boy. How did she donso, she didn't know. Starfire just suddenly morphed green and her nose just became lower and her… well, she looked exactly like Beast Boy. And his caring touch became more intimate. His soft green hands felt so… sexy.

Deluded, Raven leaned forward suddenly and locked lips with Beast Boy. Beast Boy pushed her back as if he didn't want her. He was surprised until he melted down to Starfire. Raven leaped at her and grabbed her friend's face and looked frantically down the eyes of a scared and confused teenage alien.

"Beast Boy!" Raven yelled. Cyborg had to grabbed Raven by the waist to drag her back. "Beast Boy!" Raven tried to claw at Starfire, but she was out of reach. Her back hit the mattress hard and Raven gasped as she froze stiff as a board. Her breathing even sopped as she watched two Beast Boys hood her shoulders down. They looked concerned. Raven let them check her jugular, her wrists, and forehead.

"No," Raven said firmly as a purple pentagram burned in the ceiling. The two Beast Boys slammed against the wall in less than a blink and a half. They morphed into a Cyborg and a Robin. Raven gripped her head as a massive gunshot of a headache exploded in her brain. Raven saw a blur of green and light purple.

Starfire looked scared as she held a green ball of energy in her hand. Raven felt a hint of threat and her inner demon came out. Red eyes that shut down all tinted vision and let her view the very soul of Starfire. A scared flimsy girl who did not understand the environment she walked amongst. So desperate for attention, but that was just a terrible lie she told herself because honestly, she was just a passive people pleaser.

"Starfire," Raven's amplified soft voice called. Almost like a woman sending for the presence of her lost kitten. "Starfire. I see you. A extra dose of you in fact. How beautiful you are. How disgusting you are. How much guilt you carry. Let's look into your personal history. Your… less pleasant side of you."

Starfire was quaking in fear. She showed symptoms of a scared child with a fearing heart. Not knowing what punishment would come from her alcoholic father. Not knowing whether he would be kind or if he would beat her unconscious and choke her out with his belt. It felt amazing to have the ability to make someone drop from the dread of unpredictable consequences. The ability to give mercy and the ability to abuse her beyond repair. That power was as awesome as an orgasm. It might even incur one.

Raven clinched onto Starfire's memory and the world of knowledge. Piecing together the puzzle to inflict more and more emotional pain. She cocked her head as the tendrils shot from her cloak and pinned Starfire to the wall.

"Starfire. Do you remember Brice Dockson? Your cocaine dealer? The one you murdered for a extra ounce of that sugar? Funny! Do you find this amusing?"

Starfire was crying and about to let out a sob, but Raven put a tendril in her mouth and silenced her. Raven gave a soft motherly laughter. The headache continued and the tendrils got stronger because of her over extension of energy. Starfire's mouth edges tore slightly and she gave a muffled scream.

"Starfire, you look beautiful with some blood. Which reminds me, aren't you the same girl who secretly aided the psychopath prince of crime, the Joker, in hopes of replacing his queen, Harley? Unwritten history, but yet I find it so worth telling. So wroth my time."

A blue energy beam hit Raven's cloak hems. She turned swiftly. Cyborg was charging another shot. Raven dropped Starfire and tried to swat him. Cyborg tucked into a roll and dodged such a maneuver. One of Robin's explosives went off next to her ear. Not damaging, but an annoyance nonetheless. Raven felt more dark energy disperse into the air.

"Stand down, Raven," Robin commanded. "I will put you down."

Raven smirked as she extended her hands into the air and exploded the room with an aura of death. Someone was going to be in a lot of pain, very, very, soon. Burning with the passion of hate, Raven gripped everyone. She planned on popping everyone's brain out when a voice she didn't expect called her name.

"Raven!" Beast Boy yelled.

 **To Be Concluded…**


	11. The End

**Raven**

"Beast Boy?" Raven asked.

At first, she suspected her own mental disorder except that Starfire was in view, Robin was on the ground, and Cyborg was half conscious. She glanced at the tube and saw that it was empty. Her magical anger dissolved and she fell on her feet. She stepped towards Beast Boy slowly.

He was looking at her like a expert in a museum. So was she, but he was more intent. Raven reached out and touched his molten burnt face. Half of it was peeling off and his hair was gone. His eyes untouched, but under them were the most tight pulled out lines she ever witnessed. His nose was twisted slightly to the left. The right side of his lip as torn downwards. His ears were chipped and his chin was split open.

She stroked his cheek. She felt the smooth skin ooze out pus, but she didn't care. The soft touch wound was newly opened and exposed some blood. It covered her hand like spider webs, but she did not care. Much less, looking into his eyes, she didn't notice. It was the real Beast Boy. She stepped into his lovely aura and hugged him slowly. Cautiously. Testing him and his reaction.

What if he didn't like her for real? What if he had only put on a show for her just so he could prove he could gain the affection of a demon?

Dread filled her heart when he was hesitant. Was this confirmation of her doubt? Was he actually disgusted by the first sight of her or was he just wondering if the memories of her had changed? Raven was on the edge of tears and a total mental breakdown. This was the second worse suspense ever. The first of course being whether or not she got into heaven.

And all she heard was her heartbeat. Da-dum. Da-dum. Da-dum. Da-dum. She was basically in her mind rolling in nails and hot tar. One second. Two seconds. A long moment.

Beast Boy returned the embrace.

Raven almost squeaked in joy as he brushed her thumb on her back. It may have been outside her cloak, the touch was still reassuring. He drew the hug into a more intimate position. She had to bend her head towards his lips which she eagerly obliged to kiss. She let him move in a more inappropriately fashion as he let his hands enter her cloak folds. She shivered from the best touch she ever had.

"Raven," he whispered. "What happened to you?"

"I've lost my mind."

"No, you lost me."

"You are my mind."

Beast Boy let a small air bubble come between their lips which was an escape of laughter. From there, their kiss turned more sloppy. The spit and blood became so thick that they nearly choked. When they withdrew, they nearly collapsed.

"I love you," she said with absolute pleasure. She was overexcited.

"Raven, I love you too."

But Raven's love was bigger. It was making bigger sob tears of happiness. Her heart was swelling to the point that the current truth would be that if someone can die from heartbreak, she would be immune to such a thought of consideration for the rest of her life.

Then it began to fall apart.

Raven fell down and stayed on her back as the headaches smashed through every glass wall in her brain. The room started to become red from the pain. Literally. The temperature was rising as Raven couldn't take it anymore.

She dropped the shield.

It could only be seconds before the Tower exploded. Raven was free from the headache as she gazed upon the beauty of the Beast. She was bleeding from both nostrils and her grey skin had turned white. Her third eye, the red diamond, had turned black. Her hands were leaking a river of black magic. It was almost like a pool of blood.

She expected death as Robin threw a explosive gadget at the window. With the window blown out, Starfire jumped out. She would be falling towards the water. Cyborg was rising up as the first shot came through the window. It hit him in the shoulder. He fell back and dragged himself back as another hit him in the right thigh.

"I… I… can't put… the-the, I… can't," Raven was broken. She was so hurt, she struggled to even formulate the words. No more magic, no more energy, and no more life left to expend. Another headache would be her demise.

Robin dragged Cyborg back as another bullet came through the empty pane and pierced his chest. Now flat on his back, Raven tried to summon magic. It was never going to happen as she saw a flash in the distance. A sniper scope. She was going to die. But she didn't want to see it coming. She looked at Beast Boy and smiled.

But the inevitability of death never came. The bullet never struck. Instead, Raven heard the sound of a giant wave. She smelled the ocean's salt. Fish. Seaweed. Aquman.

Raven tilted her head as she saw the Man of Steel descending with the Caped Crusader.

Rescue was here as Raven saw black.

* * *

Raven awoke in a well polished cave. She was resting in a tube. She extended her hand and melted into a portal to exit the device. She looked around. She saw Beast Boy and the rest of the Teen Titans conferring with the Justice League. Perhaps, it was time to let go of the fantasies and grip onto what was right in front of her.

Whether it be real… or fake.

* * *

 _ **The End**_

* * *

 **Shout out to Invader Johnny.**

 **Wait a few days and be on the lookout for the next story. A hint of what it may be:**

 **East shall never see me,**

 **And I will remain without law**

 **Revolvers and spurs**

 **Make the prostitute crawl.**


End file.
